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19th June 2015
UK house price growth eased in the year to April, partly due to a slowdown in London, official figures have shown. Prices rose by 5.5% - compared with a 9.6% rise in the year to March - the slowest annual price growth since December 2013, the Office for National Statistics said. Prices in London rose 4.3%, the lowest growth rate in two-and-a-half years. In the year to April, Northern Ireland saw house prices increase at the fastest pace in the UK, rising 8.8%. Prices in England were up 5.8%, in Scotland 2.2% and in Wales 1.3%.
Evening Standard (16/06/2015)
12th June 2015
The Times includes a guide to the best ten places in the UK to buy a first home. Ranking top of the list is Stratford, which is due to be reclassified as London zone 2/3 rather than just zone 3, which will mean cheaper transport links for commuters. Apart from its proximity to central London, it is emerging as a destination in its own right; the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is already a well-established attraction, and it will soon play host to a new cultural quarter, planned in association with the V&A and Sadler’s Wells. One-bedroom apartments in a new-build, high-spec development start at £400,000, but bargains can be found from £330,000 in buildings just five years younger.
The Times (12/06/2015)
12th June 2015
Housing minister Brandon Lewis used his first official speech since being reappointed as a minister at the communities department after the election to call for the demolition and redevelopment of council estates across London. He said that politicians "cannot overlook the need to regenerate inner city areas" which are "dominated by high-rise concrete blocks from the 1960s and 70s". His comments echo those of Lord Adonis, who recently said that local authorities should knock down council housing on brownfield land to build "mixed communities" that would function as "city villages". Mr Lewis also announced £250m for the delivery of private rented accommodation in London, with 903 out of 1,353 homes to be built for private rent in Stratford’s Olympic Village.
Financial Times (11/06/2015) Estates Gazette (10/06/2015)
12th June 2015
The London mayoral hopeful David Lammy has criticised the Labour party for its “timid and vague” approach to housing. The Labour MP for Tottenham accused mayoral rivals of “making grand promises to continue to tinker around the edges” while the situation in the capital got worse. He set out his own plans, which include issuing £10bn of London Housing Bonds to build 30,000 new social homes. Fellow Labour mayoral contender Sadiq Khan also set out his plans to boost house-building. He said 50% of all new developments should be affordable homes, and that pension funds should invest in infrastructure.
Evening Standard (05/06/2015)
12th June 2015
Boris Johnson is expected to announce today that the last main piece of London owned by City Hall is to be turned into 2,000 homes and a new railway station. The 29-hectare Beam Park site in Dagenham, east London, includes plans for the first new station in London since Stratford International opened in 2011. Richard Blakeway, deputy mayor for housing and land, said the scheme would create “a new locus of jobs, activity and growth”. Some 35% of the proposed homes will be for sale or rent at below market rates.
Financial Times (09/06/2015)
12th June 2015
A team of researchers have produced "smellscapes" of London and Barcelona, maps that show the different scents of areas in different colours. A member of the research group, Daniele Quercia, says that: "The goal of our work is to open up a new stream of research that celebrates the positive role smell plays in city life".
The Guardian (08/06/2015)